Monique

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck FUCK. Why? How did she find me that fucking fast? Fuck her and fuck her range on telepathy. She saw as Lee steadily rose up from his seat and looked outside the second story window.

Lee: Who is that?

Monique got up to do a double take and saw her.

Monique: It’s Angelica.

She panicked so bad. Monique knew if anyone could find her, it would be Angelica. She was always so perky and ready to do anything for “Father B.” She was intelligent for a fourteen-year-old with pastel pink pigtails. But God was she insane. She’d shoot anything or anyone that got in her way of a job with her tactic shotgun. She didn’t care. As long as she was praised by daddy dearest. Yet, she wasn’t as ambitious as him. Him especially…oh god was he here too?

Angelica: Ohhhh Monique~! I know you’re in there~~! You can’t hide from little old me.

She aimed her guns towards the window. Monique quickly sat back down for cover as Lee started mumbling some string of words.

Angelica: Bullseye. Sorry cutie, you’re in my way!!

She took her shot. And what followed afterwards Monique couldn’t quite remember or figure out. She was anxiously terrified. What was going to happen to her? Split moments splitting apart to smaller fragments. She knew if she tried running, they’d catch her. If she tried fighting it would mean no energy for teleporting and teleporting any large distance away could potentially knock her out, putting her more at risk. There was no going back. She’d rather die with bullets through her chest than return to those walls – those God damned heartless four walls surrounded by tyranny and fear. What do I do? What do I do? What. Do. I. Do?

Lee

As shots fired he glimpsed at a cornered Monique. What was going through her mind? Is she alright? She was so frozen solid, who were these people to her and why was someone who initially showed no fear to him so terrified of them? Right now, none of that mattered as much as their safety. He covered her from harm’s way.

Lee: SHIELD

A thick layer of glass substance covered them. Shots bounced and broke into pieces. Footsteps rushed towards the doorway. The magic dampener faded as the door slammed open.

Danny: What the fuck is going on outside?? Why are there actual children with guns and machetes trying to barge in here?
Monique: Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck shit fuck.
Danny: What’s she doing here?!
Alexis: Isn’t that the girl they are after?
Monique: Fucking shit I’m so screwed. They’re going to take me away. THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE ME AWAY.

The air around them felt static, imbalanced. Molecules around vibrated at violent speeds. Everything felt out of place, as if the environment was removing them.

Lee: Monique!

He held onto her, attempting so hard to assure her everything was okay. He then darted his eyes at his friends, and somehow, they understood what he needed from them even though they couldn’t understand why. They instinctively flew out the door to the battle that went on outside. Lee then quickly returned his attention to her.

Lee: You’re going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.

Monique

The room was spinning and falling into microscopic pieces. Even his words started melting away. No matter how loud his voice tried reaching out to her, the letters all broke away. She couldn’t hear, couldn’t breathe. Everything kept spinning and breaking. Reality tore down all around

Lee

Magical circles appeared all around Monique and him. Bit by bit, particle and by particle, they were both disappearing. Is this how she teleports? Or am I just experiencing it first hand? I swore that day she teleported to me, it was like a full body transition. Like how we teleport. But why does it feel like I’m being sucked away? He wanted to ponder and ask so many questions. Regardless of how inappropriate it was. Yet, in that moment, his instincts screamed to hold on. He grasped on tightly to her as they both vanished into a flash of light. As if being engulfed in it.

Moments later, in a dank cave with paintings shining under the full moon, located on the mountain side, the two of them were spat out. They were surrounded by seas and seas of trees underneath a starry night sky. Some wer tall enough to seemingly pierce through the night sky while others were so clumped up together they looked like grassy clouds. They were both far enough away from any kind of civilization to see the milky way.

Monique

Teleporting herself was already draining. Teleporting two people really took it out of her. Her vision blurred. Her body failed her. In one moment, she saw fuzzy signs of that guy. In the next, nothing but darkness.

Lee

Breathing seemed harder than normal. Was teleporting really all this exhausting? It couldn’t be, he’d done it all the time through an application on his phone. For fuck’s sake it’s his job, why does it feel so draining? Was this the old magic once used? Or was this what she could do? Once his lungs finally figured out how to regulate breathing, he scanned around the area, desperately trying to find her.

Lee: Hey. Hey you okay?

He ran to her side, nudging her to see if she’d awaken. She had felt and looked so pale. So lifeless. Her breathing was so quiet and when he checked for a pulse it seemed almost faded. Shit. He checked his pockets. Nothing. No communicator. No health items. Just nothing. What could he do? An anomaly like her shows up out of nowhere, someone who wasn’t even described on the mission he and his friends took and yet, she was knocking on death’s door. Or so it seemed. By some form of weird miracle, light green orbs reminiscent of fireflies materialized, surrounding her. Slowly and gracefully, they spiraled downward towards her body. Like snow sprinkling on her body. Her face regained color. Her breathing regulated as her heartbeat came back to a regular beat. He couldn’t believe the phenomena going on. It was as if she was utilizing the energies all around her to heal herself. A twitch came here and there. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he unzipped his thick black jacket and covered her body.

Lee: I don’t know if you can hear me…but I promise I won’t leave you. I’ll be back.

He ran out to the forest in hopes to secure sources of food and firewood.

Monique

Flickers of fire filled and warmed up the cave room. From head to toe, she felt this comfortable warmth. It was the kind of warmth she didn’t have to use magic or any sort of energy to produce. Her vision started to trickle in as her hearing attuned back to her surroundings. She scanned the area. Searching high and low till finally, she suddenly spotted a pair of blue eyes, those very blue eyes, staring back at her.

Lee: Hey, you’re finally awake.

She quickly sat up, letting the jacket fall down just enough to expose her raggedy shirt filled with holes. Big enough to be noticeable but small enough to still cover the parts she needed covering. Panic had ensued once more.

Lee: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa wait. Just wait.

He quickly rose up.

Lee: It’s okay. From what I can tell we’re pretty far away from the villa. But I honestly don’t know how far. I could only assume far enough from civilization if the milky way is splattered on the sky. But that still doesn’t really give us a good location.
Monique: H-how do you not know?
Lee: Well when you teleported us away…I didn’t have anything on me at the time. No phone, device, nothing. So, I literally don’t know where we are.
Monique: I...wait....I-I dragged you with me?

He nodded. Slowly, yet surely, she noticed him stepping closer and closer to her. Yet she kept her guard up.

Lee: It’s probably why you passed out.

She nodded. She noticed a jacket she didn’t have before. Though it was a tad bit too far from her nose, the aroma that came from it smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. Her favorite scent. How intoxicating.

Lee: You…you looked cold passed out, so I lent you my jacket to keep warm.
Monique: Thanks…uh
Lee: It’s Lee. Lee von Solari. And you’re –
Monique: Monique, obviously.
Lee: Well Monique Obviously, it’s about time we were properly introduced.

He chuckled as he sat closer to her.

Monique: That’s not my last name.
Lee: Well what is it then?
Monique: I…I don’t know.
Lee: You don’t have a last name? Like a family last name?
Monique: Didn’t bother to remember. Nor did I want to keep it.

She stared down, refusing to look Lee in the eye

Lee: If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.
Monique: I’d assume you’d like to know what kind of trouble you’re around. Speaking from experience, every time I’ve kept my mouth shut about it, people feel as if I’ve betrayed them.
Lee: Well if you insist.
Monique: My parents sold me when I was six. So there was no point in remembering them, their last name, or tracking them down to live a happy life with them.
Lee: What do you mean?

Her eyes meet his, this time. She scanned him up and down. She knew deep down inside what she’s known since their very first encounter. They’re alike. Whether it's two peas in a pod or two sides of the same coin, she could feel it.

Monique: I can tell you’re not from around here. Like, you don’t belong. Like me.

She saw the panic in his eye. Hah, how the tables have turned. Before he could ask, she already started to explain.

Monique: You see, the world all around us has this certain wavelength, this pattern, this essence, where everyone else is attuned to but me and you. Like we’re different. Outsiders. Anomalies. Yet, it's somewhat easy to sort of blend in this world since a good number of people here have genetic dispositions that give them powers whether it be super strength, telepathy, or whatever you can imagine. However, I am not like most people. I’m not saying I’m this special snowflake, but I’ve always been different. I can teleport great distances, so far that I’ve been able to go to other places. But I can also manipulate the environment and so far, I’ve never met another who can do that.
Lee: So, because of the latter, your parents didn’t want you?

She stuck her hands in the roaring flames, allowing it to engulf her hands up to her wrists. She observed it for a time and continued talking as if the flames became a part of her.

Monique: Some parents love their little freak of a child. They coddle them. Send them away to places where they can learn how to behave and act like they’re good members of society. Others, like me, have been sold to companies who’d rather use us as weapons for war and mass destruction. I guess I was too much for my parents to handle when my powers started developing. I was too expensive. So they used me as a sort of cash cow so they can live a luxurious life while I suffer every moment of it. I mean I guess it was better than abandonment but…

The flames grew larger, reacting to her emotions. She snapped out of it and immediately extinguished the flames, smothering the fire Lee had started.

Monique: But yeah, keeping their fucking last name would give me nothing but pain.